Card selecting apparatus



Jan. 24, 195o J. w. WHITSON 2,495,491

CARD SELEGTING APPARATUS Filed May 20 1944 5. vF/a 7 Patented Jan. 24,1950 `CAIl'tD SELEQTING APPARATUS John W. Whitson, New York, N. Y.,assignor of one-half to Clare H. Whltson, New York, N. Y.

Application May 20, 1944, Serial No. 536,474

21Ciaims.

This invention relates to improvements in the card selecting apparatusesshown in United States Patents 2,002,807 and 2,002,808 issued to me onMay v28, 1935 and Patent 1,846,779 issued to me on Feb. 23, 1932; and isof the same species as in my Patent No. 2,379,943, granted July 10,1945, my pending application for patent Serial Number 518,694, led Jan.18, 1944.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for aligning theedges of the cards relative to the card moving magnet so that each cardwill be influenced by substantially the same degree of magneticattraction by the card moving magnet.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the association of thecard aligning means with a means locking the selector members againstmovement whereby both means will op-` erate together before the selectormembers will move.

Another object of the invention is to provide means associated with themovement of the selector members whereby the card moving magnet can onlybe energized after selector members have been moved from their normalposition.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the operation of thecard aligning means in association with a means for restoring theselector members to their normal position.

i With the above mentioned and other .objects in view, the inventionconsists ingthe novel construction and combination of parts hereinafterf described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and set forth inthe claims appended hereto, it being understood that various changes inthe form, proportion, size and details of con# struction within thescope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spiritor sacrificing any of the advantages .of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a partial plan view, the parts not shown being similar tothose of Fig. 4 of Patent 2,002,808.

Pig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section taken on iline 2-2 o! F18. 1.

Fig. 3 is a lateral cross-section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. 5 is a partial right side elevation view with the outer casingremoved.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the lower right hand corner of a card. i

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view of a group of cards showing the edges ofthe cards in relation to the face of the card moving magnet before the 2cards have been aligned by the card aligning means.

In detail the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises acasing I, made up of a card compartment 2, a mechanism compartment 3 anda keyboard 4.1 Cards 5 are provided with recesses 6 on the bottom edgesthereof and adjacent to each of the opposite sides thereof to bereceived on the carrier bars 1 of a card carrier. carrierare adapted toengage the recesses 6 when removing the cards from the card compartmentor installing the cards therein. The card supporting bars 1 are providedwith a plurality of card spacing elements 8, adjustable throughout thelength thereof, whereby a number of cards are confined between each pairof spacers. The bars 1 and the elements 8 form a part of the cardcarrier. A plurality of holders 9 are arranged laterally across thecasing I between the front and rear ends thereof, the upper edges of ythe said holders lying in a common plane slightly below the line of thebottom face of card compartment 2.

`'Ihe casing I is provided with supporting frames 35 each of which has`a shoulder on its top edge 'at respectively opposite sides thereofwhich form the bottom supporting surfaces of the said compartment 2.When the cards are in the compartment the bottom edges thereof at theopposite cornersv reston the upper face ,of shoulders I 0 and thecarrier bars 1 of the tray drop below the plane of the said shoulders I0in'to recesses provided in the bottom of the compartment on oppositesides thereof between the shoulders I0. The holders 9 are provided withcrosswisev recesses II therein adjacent to each of the opposite sidesthereof and disposed next to the opposite'sides of the casing intowhich'the longitudirially extended bars 1 of the card carrier areadapted to rest when said card carrier is placed within the cardcompartment 2. The card carrier supports al1 of the cards that areconned within the card compartment and the said carrier may be removedatv will to permit various groups of cards supported in similar car--riers te be removed to and from the compartment at will.

The holders 9 are provided with-a series of elongated slots I2 cut downfrom an edge thereof and extending across the length of said crossmembers. The corresponding slots |2 of all of the holders 9 are inalignment with each other. The lower edge of each of the holders 9 isIturned into a U sectionk so that the edge Il is bent up- The carrierbars 1 of the tray or card ters in proper operating position.

caesaer wardly to lie on a plane substantially flush with the bottom ofslots I2.

A selector bar I is confined in each of the aligned slots I2 in theholders 5 each of said selector bars extending from a point rearward ofthe rearmost holder I to a point forward of the foremost holder l. Theupper edge of each of the selector bars I5 lies substantially flush withthe upper edges of the holders 5. Each of the bars I5 has inclined slotsI5 formed therein through which rods I1 extend, said rods being attachedat their opposite ends to opposite sides of the inside supporting frames35.

A plurality of finger keys I8 comprising the keyboard 4 are mounted onlevers I which in turn are rotatively Journaled on a cross bar 2l. Eachof the key levers Il engages one of the selector bars I5 beyond thefulcrum bar 2II. Thus when anyone of the linger keys Il is depressed theopp osite end of the key lever is moved upwardly causing a correspondingupward and forward movement of the related selector bar I5 within thelimits of movement prescribed by the inclined slots I6 and the crossrods I1. Each lever I9 on the opposite sides of the pivotal axis isconfined in the respective guide members 2| and 22 which aresubstantially the same as holders 9 in the inverted position, toeliminate lateral play of said levers during movement thereof.

The forward end oi each selector bar is provided with an arm 23 thereonto which one end of a cutter 24 is vertically and slidably anddetachably secured. Each cutter member 24 consists of an invertedU-shaped element having one end attached to theselector bar asdescribed, and the opposite end of said cutter provided with an openingthrough the face thereof, one edge of said opening being cut at an angleto provide a shearing or cutting edge. The details of the cutter member24 being fully shown in Figs. 1 and 5 of Patent 2,002,808. The cutters24 lie alongside of each other across the width of casing,I. The bottomface of each of the cutters rests on a spring nger 21, while the upperface of the cutters is confined belowthe bottom side of shear bar 28.The spring fingers engage the interior of their respective cutters 24and tend to force the upper side of said cutters upwardly against thebottom side'of the shear bar 25. The described method of mounting thecutters permits of a slack or "loose play fit of'said parts and thespring fingers 21 serve to hold each of the cut- The spring tension ofthe finger on the cutter also supplies the necessary friction tomaintain each selector bar in its elevated position. When the cuttersare inoperative the outer ends thereof lie flush with the outer face ofthe shear bar 29. When any one of the finger keys is depressed, inaddition to- `raising a corresponding selector bar I5, the movement ofthe selector bar causes the cutter attached thereto to be projectedforwardly of the shear bar 29 into cutting position.

The cards 5 are provided withr a plurality of spaced lugs or abutmentsIt along the bottom edge thereof, the spaces between the plurality oflugs corresponding to the number of selector bars I5. Each of the lugsor the spaces between any pair of lugs may represent or be designated byany letters of the alphabet, or by numbers, or by any other emblems orindicia to suit the particular conditions of work of the card. The lugsor spaces on the bottom of the card are related to the nger keys on themachine whereby each key on the keyboard when depressed will always moveits selector bar into a space on the bottom ot the card correspondingwith that key. The card I has magnetically attractable strips IIcemented to a surface thereof at the opposite vertical edges. The cardsmust be responsive to magnetic attraction.

To this point the specincation has substantially followed that of Patent2,002,808 as to reference numbers and description because the parts aresimilar.

Operation for movement. Holding switch 32 depressed, the

operator then depresses the flrst of certain of the keys I8corresponding to the name or title or other key data that willdistinguish that particular card from the other cards contained in thecard compartment. 'I'he pressing of the first key will move Y itsassociated selector bar into its upmost position and the selector barwill in turn move armature plate 42 to its upmost position therebyreleasing the balance of the keys I8 for movement as desired. The keysthus depressed will cause corresponding cutter members to be projectedbeyond the face of shear bar 29 as shown in Fig. 1. With the cutters inthis position the card would have its lugs 30 on the bottom edge thereofdropped down into the openings 25 of the cutters. one edge 26 of opening25 is cut at an angle to provide a shearing or cutting edge. Theoperator would then press switch 36 which is connected to power lead 31and to electro-magnet 38 which in turn is connected to power lead 39.Electromagnet 38 is mounted in the mechanism compartment 2 and isfastened at each end to the frames 35 as at 4I Armature plate 42 isfastened on rod 43 as at 44. Rod 43 extends between frames I5 and isjournaled therein as at 45, one end of armature plate 42 contacts anotch 46 in each of the selector bars I5 so that uponthe raising of anyselector bar armature plate 42 will move with the selector bar and beraised from the face of electro-magnet 38 to a position as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 2. When electro-magnet 22 is energized by closingswitch 35 armature plate 42 will be attracted by and move towardelectro-magnet 35 thus moving with it the raised selector bars to theirdownmost positions, this action will cause all of the cutters to bereturned simultaneously to their concealed position which action of thecutters causes the lugs on the bottom edge of the card to be cuttherefrom.

When armature plate 42 is in its downmost position bolt 34 is in theposition shown in Fig. 3, locking armature plate 42 againstelectro-magnet 38 preventing any movement' of armature plate 42 which inturn prevents any movement of the selector bars I5 and the keys I8 ofthe keyboard 4.

Solenoid 33 is contained in a casing having a flange piece which is.fastened to frame 2l. A spring 41 keeps bolt 34 in ,its extendedAposition locking armature plate 2 against movement. Bolt 34 extendsthrough a hole in frame 35 and Ahas a. shoulder which bears againstframe I5 re- .straining its outward movement. When solenoid 33 isenergized, bolt 34, which is the coref the solenoid, will be drawn intolthe solenoidthus unlccking armature plate 42 so that it`can move whenany key I8 is depressed and the selector 'n.associated with thedepressed key'is raised to its upmost position Thus it can be seen thatbefore the operator can operate the keyboard 4, the keyboard must bereleased for operation by pressing switch 32 which controls solenoid 33.

In the same circuit with switch 32 is solenoid 48 which operates thecard aligning means. Soienoid 48 is mounted on bracket 43 whichisfastened at therear of casing I. Solenoid 48 has a core 63 with asquared outward end on which is formed gear rack 5I. The portion of core53 that is normally in the solenoid is round in cross-section and thesquared end projects through asquare hole in the case of the solenoid sothat the upward travel of the core is limited to the position shown inFig. 2 being maintained in this position by the spring 52. Gear 53 ismounted between collars 54 on shaft 55 which is journaled in a rearbracket 56 and a front bracket 51 both of which are mounted on casing I.Fastened to shaft 55 as at 58is card aligning bade 58. When switch 32 isoperated energizing solenoid 48, core 53 will be switch 32 is releasedde-energlzing solenoid 48,l

spring 52 moves core 53 to its extended position and blade 53 moves backto a position clear of the cards in the card compartment as shown inFig. 3. Y l l Electro-magnet 63 is mounted on the shoulder I3 of frame35 being held thereto by cap screws :5'

6I, stud 82 adjustably holds electro-magnet 63 so that it may be tiltedin relation to the vertical edges of the cards 5.

The card from which certain ofthe lugs have been cut or removed wouldthen be placed in the card carrier in the card compartment 2 as shown inFig. 3.V The operator would then depress switch 32 and would thendepress the first of the series'of keys I8 corresponding to the cut outportions left on the cards as a result of the removal of the lugs,switch 32 would then be released and the balance of the series of keyswould be depressed. The keys when depressed will move their selectorbars upwardly into the cut out spaces between the lugs on the said card.The selector bars would also assume a position in the spaces between thelugs on all the other cards, in the card compartment, which either haveor do not have cut out portions thereon. Obviously cards that do nothave lugs Acut from the bottom edge thereof could not have any lateralmovement inasmuch as the width of the selector bar ts the space betweenany pair of lugs. However, on those cards where one or more lugs havebeen removed to providega space between lugs greater than the widthorthickness of the selector bars then such cards can move laterallyrelative to the selector bars extended between lug spaces thereon. Afterthe desired number of keys have been depressed and the selector bf rsengaged with the aforesaid selector spaces on the bottom of the cardsthe operator would depress switch 63.

Connected into wire 65 of the circuit of switch 63 is contactar 64 whichis mounted on and insulated from the extension of rod 43. Contacter 64rotates with rod 43 and makes contact with contacts 66 and 61 by slidingover the top of the same only when armature plate 42 is in its upperposition. Thus electro-magnet 63 cannot ISU the card compartment inrelation to electromagnet 33.- l The pressing of switch 32 also releasesthekeys I8 for operation, this function has already been described. 'Ihemagnet 83 will not 4operate upon closing switch 63 unless at least onekey I8 is rst depressed to move-armature 42 upwardly to close switch 64.

When electro-magnet 63 is energized, by pressing switch 63, a cardhaving cut out portions corresponding to the Aseries of depressed keysI8 would be magnetically attracted to electro-magnet 63, moving to themagnet in an arcuate path as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Theselected card would be removed from the card compartment and switch 33would be pressed to return the 4raised selector bars to their normalpositions in readiness for the next card selection. The armature plate42 serves as a restoring member for the selector bars I5. When the barsare in their raised positions, the downward movement of armature plate42 will restore the raisedv selector bars to their downmost positions.Wire 68 connects switch 36 with the circuits of solenoids 33 and 48 sothat blade 59 will operate to align the cards as already described, andcore 34 of solenoid 83 will also be moved as already described, whenswitch 36 is operated. It is optional to have wire 68 join the circuitsas described, when wire 68 is not included the beveled latch end of thecore 34 will contact the edge of armature plate 42 with the result thatcore 34 will move aside so as not to obstruct the movement of plate-42toward electro-magnet 38. Employing switch 36 to operate the cardaligning means serves to align the lugs 33 of each of the cards with theselector bars I5 so that the selector bars may more readily enter thespaces between the lugs on a subsequent card selection, this reduceswear on the side edges of the lugs because of reduced frictional contactwith the selector bars.

Fig. 4.shows the circuits of switches 32 and 36 arranged forsimultaneous operation of the elecrather vthan in unison so thatsolenoid 48 will operate before solenoid 33 and that both solenoids willoperate before electro-magnet 38, the object being to align the lugs 33in relation to the selector `hars so as to reduce frictional contact andwear between the selector bars and the lugs on the cards. A steppingrelay rnay be arranged inthe circuitof switch 63 sothat solenoid 48would be energized and deenergized to operate the card aligningmechanism and the electromagnet 63 then energized to move a desiredcard. The pressing of switch 63 would set the stepping relay in motionand the release of switch 63 would act to reset the relay to itsstarting position and also de-energize magnet 63.

From the description thus far it can be seen that the cards are heldfrom movement to electromagnet 63 by the lugs 33 on the bottom edge ofeach of the cards contacting the selector bars I5. this is also the casein Patents 1,846,779, 2,002,807 and`2,002,808. The continued attractionof magnet 63 on the cards causes the lugs 33 to become worn on theirside edges nearest the magnet 63 as indicated at 63 in Fig. 6. When thecards are new the lugs are as shown at 13. The result of this diierencebetween new and worn lugs 7b means that the cards will always vary as toalignasomar ment in manen to magnet n u mumbai in m.

' 7, line Il representing the face of electro-magnet l0. When all of thecards are new this condition does not exist but as the cards age thelugs Il vary inthe degree in which they are worn with the result thatthecards themselves vary in alignment in relation to the magnet Il, thisvariation means that cards closer to the magnet receive a greater degreeof magnetic attraction than other cards. experience has shown that thevariation is such that many of the cards do not receive the degree ofmagnetic attraction that will cause them to move to electro-magnet Il.The cards whose edges are closer to magnet Il absor the magnetic ileldand the cards whose edges are too far away become inoperative.

When the cards are aligned as provided in this invention, the cards whenattracted by` magnet tl will tend to move en masse toward the magnet,the card or cards whose cut out portions correspond with the selectorbar setting continue to I'move to magnet 0l in the arcuate pathindicated in Fig. 3, those cards whose lugs are-worn will continue tomove toward magnet 60-until arrested by the selector bars, those cardswhose lugs are not worn will be immediately arrested against movementtoward magnet 00 by the selector bars, Fig. 7 shows how a group of cardedges could look after being attracted to magnet I0. The presentinvention provides. that the card moving magnet will attract new and oldcards with substantially equal magnetic force.

Patents 1,846,779 and 2,002,808 show no means i'or aligning theircardsin relation to their card moving magnets. Patent 2,002,807 shows acard aligning means in the magnet I8 which aligns the card edges inrelation to itself, for this magnet to align lthe card edges in relationto the card mov ing magnet Il provision must be made that the cards willalways remain a uniform size after manufacture and will not vary in sizewhen sub- Jected to Vvarying conditions of humidity, since cardsmade ofstandard'commercial paper stocks will vary in size due to this causethis invention provides that the card edges adjacent the card movingmagnet will be aligned insteadofthe vopposite edges as in Patent2,002,807 with the advantage that the cards may be made of standardcommercial paper stocks instead of special paper stocks.

The present invention also provides for its card aligning means to beoperative in association with the movement of its selector members whilePatent 2,002,807 makes no such provision.

The card aligning mechanism may also be manuaily manipulated by lever'Il which rotates shaft ",inthiscasethecardaligningbladelwill le of thispatent:

Having thus described this invention what I claim and desireto secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a system of electrical circuits which includes means for openingand closing the circuit of a card moving magnet that is common to all.of the cards of a card selecting apparatus in which magneticallyattractive cards are enmedb! selectively movable selector .members thatare common to all of the cards: the combination of a second means in theelectrical circuit of the said card moving magnet for opening andclosing .the said circuit and means controlled by the selector membersfor operating the second named means.

2. In" a card selecting apparatus in 'which a set of magneticallyattractive cards are selectively locked against movement by selectivelysettable selector members that are common to all of the cards and a cardmoving magnet adjacent an edge oi' the set of cards moves cards notlocked out ofalignment with locked cards, the combination with a systemof electrical circuits, of means for opening and closing one of saidcircuits including a card moving magnet to move masnetically attractivecards said card selector members having a connection to said means foroperating the opening and closing of said circuits.

JOHN W. WHITSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record .in the UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,790,453 Anderson Jan. 27, 19311,846,779 Whitson Feb. 23, 1932 2,002,807 Whitson May 28, 1935 2,002,808Whitson May 28, 1935 2,146,063 Gardin Feb. 7, 1939 2,331,471 HolleckOct. 12, 1943 2,379,943 Whitson July 10, 1945

